The room stayed completely frozen for what felt like an eternity. The only sounds were the soft whoosh of warm wind from the open balcony and the low, nervous hisses coming from three full sets of living snake hair—Medusa’s emerald vipers, Stheno’s golden serpents, and Euryale’s shadowy ones all rustling uneasily.
Hyun-woo, still shirtless and trapped in the roots that had wrapped around his chest and arms, felt his face burn. His cheeks were bright red, and his heart pounded like crazy.
With just a tiny, casual push of his arms—barely any effort at all—the roots snapped like dry twigs. Crack! They broke clean apart.
Those roots were tougher than steel cables. Breaking them should have been impossible for anyone.
But because Medusa and Stheno were still half-leaning on him, their soft weight and coiled tails keeping him pinned to the chair, he couldn’t stand up right away.
In the sudden tension, nobody noticed that he had already broken free.
But he did manage to squeak out a tiny, embarrassed, "Uh… hi?"
"This really isn’t what it looks like!"
Being caught half-naked and tangled up with two legendary Gorgons was not the ideal way to say hello to anyone—especially not to his sort-of girlfriend.
Ebonara stood in the doorway, her eight gem-like eyes spinning through colors: first shocked pink, then jealous crimson.
And they stopped on red.
Her long scorpion tail flicked sharply behind her—whip! It struck the ground hard, and the shockwave knocked the small wooden table over. Bowls of leftover chocolates and fizzy nectar cups crashed to the floor in a sticky mess.
"Cutie pie," she said slowly, her voice low and dangerously sweet as she stepped inside. "Care to explain why you’re half-naked and wrapped up between my two friends?"
Medusa and Stheno instantly let go of his arms and scooted backward so fast their tails nearly tangled.
Their cheeks burned pink under pale skin, snake hair hissing in panic. They knew exactly how scary Ebonara could get when she was angry.
"I-it was just payback!" Medusa stammered, trying to sound calm but failing. "He completely ignored the tree’s super-strong aphrodisiac and passed our loyalty test perfectly, so we… teased him a little. That’s all! Nothing more!"
Stheno crossed her arms, puffing out her chest like she wasn’t embarrassed at all, but her golden snakes were hissing softly in shame. "Yeah, totally innocent," she muttered. "We were just… evening the score."
Euryale floated in right behind Ebonara, arms folded tight, her sharp slit-pupil eyes narrowed in disbelief. "Innocent?" she repeated, voice dripping with sarcasm. "You two had him pinned like you were about to devour him whole. I’ve lived thousands of years, and I have never seen you act this thirsty. What in the world happened while we were gone?"
From the wide balcony, the other guardians peeked in, all crowding the doorway. They whispered and giggled.
One guardian, a beautiful woman made entirely of swirling snow and frost, actually pulled out a phone and started recording. "Oh, this is going straight to the group chat," she muttered with a mischievous grin.
Before anyone could protest or snatch the phone away, the veiled woman in flowing black silk drifted forward smoothly.
The air instantly grew heavier, older—like time itself paused to listen. Even the warm wind stopped blowing. The giggles died. The hisses quieted.
She tilted her hidden face toward Hyun-woo. No eyes were visible under the layers of dark silk, yet he felt her gentle, powerful gaze like a soft hand resting on his soul—curious.
"This is not the place to talk," she said calmly, her voice carrying immense weight. "We should change the location. I am curious."
Before anyone could argue or ask questions, reality shimmered.
In a single heartbeat, everyone—including Hyun-woo—vanished from the treehouse living room, leaving only scattered chocolates and a broken table behind.
"So," the veiled woman said. "This is the human who cured Ebonara’s hunger… who snapped a powerful deity’s neck like it was nothing… and who sat perfectly relaxed in the most potent aphrodisiac garden on the entire continent."
They had all been instantly transported to a grand, circular chamber. The walls were smooth pale stone glowing with soft blue runes, and a huge round table carved from a single massive crystal sat in the center. All the guardians—terrifying and beautiful in their human forms—were seated around it.
Hyun-woo now found himself in a comfortable chair right between Ebonara and Medusa. Stheno and Euryale sat close by, while the veiled woman—the one everyone called "Mother"—sat gracefully at the spot directly across from him.
"Who… are you?" Mother asked, her tone shifting from calm to wary. What Hyun-woo had done was simply impossible—even for her, the ancient creator of Eden's Vault.
A tiny spark of suspicion grew inside her. Could this boy be a hidden enemy? A spy from the immortals?
In that moment, as if sensing what Mother was thinking, six guardians around the table looked at him with suspicion.
But Ebonara, Medusa, Stheno, and even Euryale glared right back at the others, protective of him. Euryale did it a little reluctantly—she was usually the coldest sister—but she trusted her siblings completely. No one was going to threaten Hyun-woo if her sisters liked him.
Hyun-woo’s mind was a total mess. His heart raced. He felt super intimidated surrounded by these people. "Well… what can I say? Small world, hahaha," he laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. It was a weak joke, but it was all his panicked brain could come up with.
Mother’s hidden face tilted slightly. "Should I kill you here and now?" she asked quietly, testing him. She was genuinely curious—was he really an enemy?
Ebonara shot to her feet in a flash, stepping protectively in front of Hyun-woo. Her scorpion tail rose high, venom dripping from the tip.
"Mother," she said firmly, voice full of steel. "He’s mine."
She didn’t care who it was—she would kill everyone if they harmed her cutie pie in any way.
Mother’s voice stayed gentle but firm. "Child, do you even understand what you’re doing?"
With those words, she released a pressure—a crushing, invisible force that could bring anyone to their knees. God or immortal, it made no difference.
Instantly, Ebonara dropped to one knee, trembling. Medusa, Stheno, and Euryale did the same, faces tight with effort. The other guardians bowed their heads respectfully.
But Hyun-woo? He stayed standing, looking around with a confused, wide-eyed expression. Nothing pushed him down. He just… felt normal.
Mother’s veiled silhouette froze. Every guardian looked up in total shock. No one—not in all their history since they were here—had ever stood unaffected under her full pressure.
Before she could ask more, Hyun-woo quickly stepped forward. He moved in front of Ebonara and the three sisters, spreading his arms like a shield. He took the full force of the pressure head-on.
And still… nothing happened. Not even a stumble.
Ebonara looked up at him from her knee, a huge, proud grin spreading across her face—her eight eyes sparkling with tiny hearts.
The Gorgon sisters stared in pure awe. Medusa’s mouth hung open. Euryale whispered, "No way…" Stheno's snakes stopped hissing completely.
They had never, ever seen anyone do this. Let alone protect them like this.
Mother watched quietly for a moment. Then a hidden smile formed. She increased the pressure—stronger, heavier. Tiny cracks and fissures began to appear in the air itself.
Still, Hyun-woo stood tall, perfectly fine, looking a little worried but completely unharmed.
Just as everyone braced for even more power, the pressure vanished in an instant.
A bright, joyful chorus of laughter filled the chamber.
"Hahahaha!"
It was Mother—the veiled woman in black—laughing with real delight for the first time in ages.
And then, for the first time since she had created Eden’s Vault thousands of years ago, she reached up and slowly pulled away her dark veil.
Her face was revealed: breathtakingly beautiful, not monstrous at all. Skin like flawless porcelain, long flowing hair as black as midnight, deep black eyes that sparkled, and full lips painted a perfect crimson red.
She was so incredibly, impossibly beautiful that any normal person—mortal or immortal—would lose their mind just looking at her. Hearts would stop. Minds would break from pure overwhelming awe.
But Hyun-woo?
He just stood there, blinking, with the most confused expression on his face—like he was trying to figure out why everyone was acting so dramatic.
He wasn’t enchanted. He wasn’t dazed. He wasn’t even blushing.
He was just… confused. Why is she taking her veil off?
Meanwhile, all eight mighty guardians dropped to their knees at once. Their heads bowed low, eyes fixed firmly on the crystal floor. They didn’t dare look up.
Mother’s unveiled face was legendary for a reason. Anyone who gazed at her face—mortal, monster, or even god—would lose their mind in seconds. Hearts would race too fast, thoughts would shatter, and sanity would slip away like sand. It had happened before. Even that hero ended up babbling or bedridden for weeks.
But Hyun-woo? He just stood there, blinking in total confusion—like he was wondering why everyone was making such a big deal.
If he wasn’t going mad… that meant he was far, far more powerful than any of them had imagined.
"You are unaffected," Mother said softly, her voice now filled with real curiosity instead of suspicion. A warm smile spread across her perfect crimson lips. "Just as I guessed."
She stepped closer, her midnight-black hair flowing like silk in an invisible breeze. "Who are you?"
Hyun-woo rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. His cheeks were still a little pink from the earlier chaos with the Gorgon sisters. He glanced nervously at Ebonara and the three sisters still kneeling on the ground, then back at the unbelievably beautiful woman in front of him.
"Uh… my name is Hyun-woo," he said politely, voice steady but shy. "And I’m… just a human."
The words hung in the air.
Every guardian slowly lifted their heads—just enough to stare at him in complete astonishment. They had seen thousands of humans over the centuries: soldiers, heroes, kings, mages. None—not even the strongest legendary heroes of today—could stand before Mother’s true face without breaking. One famous hero had once glimpsed her by accident… and spent thirty full days in bed, trembling and whispering nonsense.
But this ordinary-looking boy with messy black hair and warm brown eyes? He was staring right at her… with nothing more than polite confusion.
Now every single guardian turned toward him, eyes wide with burning curiosity.
And the most curious of them all was Mother herself. She studied him carefully, searching for any sign of a lie. There was none. His heart was honest. So she rephrased her question gently.
"Then how did you become so powerful?"
Hyun-woo brightened, like the answer was the simplest thing in the world. "Oh, that’s easy," he said with a small, embarrassed smile.
Everyone leaned in slightly. Even the air seemed to hold its breath.
"I had sex with Ebonara," he said plainly. "After that, I woke up… like this."
Silence.
Complete, stunned silence.
For a heartbeat, every guardian—and Mother herself—just stared at him. Then several of them looked like they seriously wanted to slap him upside the head.
"What kind of nonsense is that?!" Mother exclaimed, her perfect eyebrows shooting up. Her voice stayed elegant, but the shock was clear. "How can someone gain this kind of power just from… from sex?" She glanced toward Ebonara. "And don’t think I’ve forgotten how you used to hunt men to feed your eternal hunger, daughter."
Hyun-woo raised both hands quickly. "I’m not lying! Seriously—you can ask Ebonara. She kind of… kidnapped me from the desert. Back then I was totally normal. No powers, no strength, nothing. I couldn’t even fight a big scorpion."
He gave Ebonara a tiny sideways glance—she was still kneeling, cheeks flushed. "But after we, uh… you know… everything changed. I awakened, and I got all this power."
Mother turned slowly to Ebonara. "Is this true, my daughter?"
Ebonara kept her eyes firmly on the floor—she didn’t dare look up at Mother’s face, or she’d risk losing her mind like everyone else. Her voice came out clear and honest, though. "It’s true, Mother. When I found him in the desert, he was completely ordinary. Weak, no Talent detected, easy prey. I took him planning to… well, you know. But after our first time together, something changed. His power exploded. He became stronger."
She risked a tiny glance toward Hyun-woo, her eight eyes soft with pride and affection. "He really did awaken because of me."
For a long, long moment, Mother just stared at Ebonara—speechless.
Every guardian around the table was equally stunned. Mouths open. Eyes wide. A few tails and wings twitched in disbelief.
No one spoke. The idea was so ridiculous… and yet everything they’d just witnessed made it terrifyingly possible.
Finally, Mother let out a soft, wondering laugh—a sound like distant temple bells.
"Well," she said, folding her hands gracefully, "this is certainly a first."
And for the first time in millennia, the ancient creator of Eden’s Vault looked genuinely, truly fascinated by a human boy named Hyun-woo.
Mother let out a long, thoughtful sigh that echoed softly around the grand crystal chamber—like an ancient wind passing through forgotten ruins.
"Fine," she said at last, her crimson lips curving into a mysterious smile. "If words won’t work… we’ll try the hard way."
Everyone froze. Even the guardians still kneeling felt a chill. The "hard way" from Mother was never simple—or safe.
She turned her deep obsidian eyes to Hyun-woo. "What is your name, child?"
Hyun-woo blinked, totally confused. What is she planning now? "Uh… it’s Hyun-woo," he answered politely, scratching his cheek.
Mother nodded once. Then, in a calm, beautiful voice, she spoke her true name—a test only the strongest could pass. Anyone weaker than her would hear nothing but meaningless noise.
To Hyun-woo’s ears, it came through clear and gentle, like a soft melody meant just for him: "And I am Adrazelle."
He heard every syllable perfectly. It felt warm, ancient, and kind.
But to everyone else—Ebonara, Medusa, Stheno, Euryale, and the eight other guardians—the sound was pure gibberish. A strange jumble of impossible tones no mouth could ever shape. Their eyes shot wide in shock.
Hyun-woo tilted his head. "Adrazelle? That’s a beautiful name."
Mother just said her true name… and only the human boy understood it? All the guardians were shocked.
Ebonara’s tail twitched in excitement. The Gorgon sisters gasped. The other guardians whispered in awe. This had never happened before—not in thousands of years.
But before anyone could react to that, something completely unexpected happened.
Adrazelle’s smile turned playful—just a little dangerous.
With a graceful wave of her pale hand, the crystal floor beneath Hyun-woo’s feet rippled like water… and then vanished.
A perfect circle opened up right under him.
"Whoa—!" Hyun-woo yelped as he dropped straight down, falling fast into the darkness below.
"Let’s see if you can survive the shield," Adrazelle called after him, her voice light and teasing, like a teacher giving a surprise test.
The "shield" was Eden’s Vault's legendary outer barrier—a deadly wall of pure divine magic that surrounded the entire hidden realm. Any man who touched it was instantly erased—body and soul. No exceptions. That’s why only women could ever enter safely.
Hyun-woo tumbled through the air, wind rushing past his ears. The glowing towers and floating gardens of Eden spun around him as he fell toward the shimmering, deadly wall far below.
"Wha—wait—!" he shouted, arms flailing.
He wasn’t scared, exactly, but this was still super sudden! And there was a tiny bit of possibility that he would die.
And then—his eyes looked back at the stone fortress. And he saw Ebonara jumping right after him.
Her humanoid form exploded into her massive black scorpion shape mid-air—truck-sized, gleaming chitin, eight powerful legs, and tail arched high. She dove headfirst, wings of shadow bursting from her back to catch the wind.
"Darling!" she roared, voice booming with determination. "I’m coming!"
Medusa, Stheno, and Euryale watched from the open hole, jaws dropped.
"She jumped… for him?" Stheno whispered.
"Of course she did," Medusa said softly, a small frown on her face. "That’s love."
Far above, Adrazelle watched with calm, curious eyes—her black hair flowing gently.
"Let’s see what you’re truly made of, Hyun-woo," she murmured.
Down below, the deadly shield rushed closer… and Ebonara raced to catch her falling human before it could touch him.
The real test had just begun. Adrazelle simply wanted to know if he could survive that shield... or if it would kill him.
=====================
Chapter 18 is now available on Patreon.